- Decision
- approved, 25 August 2026
- Decided by
- Council planning committee: Wychavon Planning Committee (resolution 5 Mar 2026); notice signed by Adam White
- Authority
- Wychavon (West Midlands)
- Application reference
- W/25/01931/OUT
- Procedure
- committee
- Development
- Outline, access only, for 59 dwellings including 24 affordable
- Homes
- 59
- Site context
- open countryside, settlement edge
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- December 2024 NPPF (transitional)
- Determinative policies
- Transitional(1)
- Development plan policies
- South Worcestershire Development Plan 2016 (as cited in the notice conditions)
- Main issues
- transition between Frameworks; resolution-to-grant issued after 17 Aug
Summary
A 59-home outline on Stonebow Road, Drakes Broughton. The committee resolved to grant in March 2026 and the permission was issued on 25 August 2026, eight days after the new Framework took effect. The notice gives no sign that the decision was re-checked against the 2026 Framework or the newly adopted SWDPR: its condition reasons cite the superseded SWDP 2016. A week later the Council refused 50 homes on nearby land on the same road under S5 with a five-year supply (W/26/01322/OUT).
Issues and findings
- Transition. The notice's reasons refer, for example, to "Policy SWDP4 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan and the aims and objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)" (condition 10) and to "policy SWDP26 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan 2016" (condition 21). No committee re-report after 17 Aug 2026 appears on the portal.
Planning balance
The balance was not re-run after 17 Aug 2026. The March 2026 committee report has not been harvested.
What made the difference
The timing of the committee resolution. The same Council, on nearby land on the same road (about 0.4 km away by grid reference) and a week later, applied S5(4) to refuse a similar scheme. The difference is not in the merits of the two sites but in which Framework and plan applied at the time of the resolution.
Transferable points
- Resolutions to grant made under the December 2024 Framework are being issued after 17 Aug 2026 without re-assessment. Check the notice's policy citations. Whether a decision issued after that date without considering the new Framework is lawful is a separate question: the decision-maker must have regard to material considerations at the date of issue.
- Use this case alongside W/26/01322/OUT to show how far S5 plus a five-year supply changed outcomes on the edge of a village.
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transitional(1) | not-engaged | the committee resolved in March 2026 under the earlier Framework and before the SWDPR was adopted. The permission was issued on 25 Aug 2026, after the new Framework took effect, with no recorded re-assessment. Condition reasons still cite the superseded SWDP 2016 and a generic "NPPF". |
Key facts
- Committee meeting 5 Mar 2026; decision notice issued 25 Aug 2026 after the s106
- 59 homes, 24 affordable, at least 5 bungalows (condition 22)
- The adjacent 50-home outline on Stonebow Road was refused under delegated powers on 2 Sep 2026 under S5 with a five-year supply (W/26/01322/OUT)
- Condition reasons cite "Policy SWDP4 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan" and "SWDP26 … 2016", although the SWDPR 2026 had replaced that plan by the issue date
Related decisions
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.